Trip: Psychedelics, Alienation, and Change by Tao Lin

Impressions

Tao Lin's "Trip" embarks on an unflinching odyssey into the psyche, laced with the raw energy of psychedelic substances.

This narrative transcends a simple chronicle of drug use; it's a deep excavation of the human experience, framed within the context of alienation and the potential for profound change. Lin's text is a mosaic of personal anecdote, rigorous research, and a homage to the thinkers who have shaped the psychedelic landscape, notably Terence McKenna.

Lin navigates the complexities of modern life and the search for meaning within it, with psychedelics as the compass. Lin’s writing is intimate, yet it reaches beyond the personal to touch on universal themes. Readers are drawn into a contemplation of their relationship with the self and society, guided by Lin's candid exploration of his own life and the transformative potential of these substances. It's a book that challenges as much as it enlightens, offering a rare look into the mind of an individual standing at the crossroads of cultural norms and the frontiers of consciousness exploration.

Highlights

• Tao Lin introduces Terence McKenna, a pivotal figure in the narrative, noting the impact McKenna had on his perception of psychedelics and existence.
• The author candidly shares the aftermath of completing his novel "Taipei," detailing his personal struggles and the role substances played in his life.

These highlights provide a glimpse into the thematic depth of "Trip," illustrating Lin's exploration of the psychedelic landscape and his transformation from despair to a more nuanced understanding of his experiences.​​

• Lin recounts discovering Joe Rogan's enthusiastic discussions about DMT, sparking his curiosity and leading to a deep dive into the world of psychedelics.
• The book reflects on Rogan's references to otherworldly experiences and entities encountered during DMT trips, opening a window into the profound and often mysterious effects of the substance.
• Lin describes his post-novel writing phase as a period of isolation, marked by a significant consumption of McKenna's lectures, which contrasted starkly with his own feelings of despair.
• McKenna's interpretation of technology and drugs as sources of potential empowerment and understanding is highlighted as a counterpoint to Lin's initial perspective.
• Through McKenna's talks, Lin explores a variety of topics, from human existence to the future, finding a cohesive web of interconnected ideas.
• The book discusses the "ecology of souls" as a concept explored by McKenna, relating to the entities encountered in psychedelic experiences.
• Lin delves into the notion that these entities might be more than mere hallucinations, pondering if they could be beings from a parallel world or even humans from the future.
• The author's journey is portrayed as a solitary one, spent in a room devoid of direct sunlight, indicating a physical and metaphorical search for enlightenment.

Quotes

• "Our map of the world is so wrong that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature as the central metaphor that we want to work out from."
• "Because I think literature occupies the same relationship to life that life occupies to death….In the sense that a book is life with one dimension pulled out of it and life is something which lacks a dimension which death will give it. I imagine death to be a kind of release into the imagination in the sense that, for characters in a book, what we experience is an unimaginable dimension of freedom."
• "I represent to myself—and I hope to convince you of this—radical ideas, innovative ideas, even peculiar ideas, but not loose or preposterous ideas."
• "I don’t try to boil it down to a shoutable slogan, like ‘Turn on, tune in, drop out’? Uh-uh, that— then they come, they come. So that’s one possibility—that, simply, if you are defined in their eyes as an intellectual, then they automatically put you in the harmless category and send resources elsewhere."
• "I want to keep stressing that. I won’t sit at the same table as the channelers, and the people who have good news about Atlantis, and all of this stuff."
• "Any reason why people of analytical intelligence, who are connected up to the facts of the matter about the state of the world, should hope."
• "The myth of our society is the existential myth that we are cast into matter, that we are lost in a universe that has no meaning for us, that we must make our meaning."
• "This is what Sartre, Kierkegaard, all those people are saying, that we must make our meaning. It reaches its most absurd expression in Sartre’s statement that nature is mute."
• "I think: no method, no guru, no teacher. Nobody has a handle on this; nobody understands. All these esoteric schools are the dealings of beady-eyed priests."
• "For one human being to seek enlightenment from another is like a grain of sand on the beach seeking enlightenment from another."

Conclusion

In the tapestry that is Trip, Tao Lin weaves a narrative rich with personal anecdote, philosophical inquiry, and a poignant critique of modern alienation. This book is not just a chronicle of psychedelic experiences but a reflection on the existential search for meaning in a world where isolation often seems the norm. Lin's exploration of psychedelics serves as a vessel for broader contemplation, inviting readers to question the very fabric of reality and the constructs that define our consciousness.

The conclusion of this journey is not a destination but a transformation. Lin demonstrates that the quest for understanding and the grappling with alienation can lead to an evolution of the self. His candid portrayal of this odyssey offers a mirror to our own potential for change, suggesting that within the chaos of our times and the depths of solitude, there lies an opportunity for profound personal growth and an expanded understanding of our place in the cosmos.

"Trip" is a seminal work that challenges us to see beyond the surface of our experiences and to embrace the unknown with courage and curiosity. It stands as a testament to the power of psychedelics to catalyze a shift not just in the individual but in the collective narrative, urging us to reconceive what it means to be truly connected—to ourselves, to each other, and to the universe at large.